November 2003

ISDR Informs magazine - reaching new and wider audiences in Africa and Asia
Issue 2 of Disaster Reduction in Africa - ISDR Informs is now available in both English and French.
To receive a hard copy, please contact isdr-africa@unep.org

Issue 0 of the new Disaster Reduction in Asia - ISDR Informs was officially launched at the 8th meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction on 5 November in Geneva, Switzerland. The issue was entitled 'Issue 0' to mark the birth of the collaborative effort of UN/ISDR, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), envisaged to be produced on a bi-annual basis.
To receive a hard copy, please contact rencoret@un.org
To download Disaster Reduction in Asia - ISDR Informs, please refer to http://www.unisdr.org

NEW radio soap opera - 'Tremors in my heart'
On the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, the radio soap opera Réplicas en el Corazon ('Tremors in my heart') was launched in Managua, Nicaragua in conjunction with ISDR regional partners CEPREDENAC and SINAPRED as well as the presence of the Nicaraguan Vice President. Following the success of its predecessor Tiempos de Huracanes (Times of hurricanes), Réplicas en el Corazon represents the second radio soap opera produced by UN/ISDR Latin America & the Caribbean and PAHO/UNDP/CEPREDENAC, focusing this time on earthquakes, landslides and volcanoes.
To download the radio soap opera (available in Spanish only), please refer to http://www.eird.org/esp/radionovela/2004/radionovela2004.htm

How did YOU celebrate the International Day for Disaster Reduction?
Wednesday 8 October was the culminating day of the 2003 World Disaster Reduction Day Living with Risk - Turning the tide on disasters on sustainable development. The foremost goal of the Campaign is to raise people's awareness and change perceptions towards reducing risks and vulnerabilities to the negative impacts of natural hazards. Share with us your stories and pictures of how you participated in the Campaign by printing and filling out the on-line form at http://www.unisdr.org/campaign2003/campaign2003.htm or email us isdr@un.org

Continued support for disaster reduction at UN General Assembly
The Secretary-General's report to the UN General Assembly on the Implementation of the ISDR (58/277) was presented to the Second Committee of the General Assembly on 16 October, under the item of environment and sustainable development. The report elicited many positive comments from UN Member States, in regard to the further development of ISDR as well as supporting the preparations for the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction to be held at Kobe-Hyogo, Japan in January 2005. To receive a summary of statements made upon the presentation of the report, please contact molinvaldes@un.org
To download the report, please refer to http://www.unisdr.org

Second International Conference on Early Warning (EWC-II) 16-18 October Bonn, Germany
The EWC-II Conference Statement, Integrating early warning into relevant policies and other principal documents resulting from the EWC-II are now available on-line.
To access and download these documents, please refer to http://www.ewc2.org

Madrid Declaration resulting from the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Disaster Reduction
The Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Disaster Reduction held 6-8 October proved to be a valuable meeting, bringing together actors in civil protection, environment, academia and civil society and resulting in a number of concrete outcomes that will be incorporated in the global review process of the Yokohama strategy. The conclusions and recommendations of the Conference summarised in the 'Madrid Declaration' are now available on-line.
To download the Declaration, please refer to http://www.unisdr.org

Training for tomorrow's leaders in disaster risk reduction
In 2003 the ISDR Fellowship Programme was launched by UN/ISDR. The Programme aims at providing financial support to professionals and future decision-makers from developing countries for short-term educational and training courses on disaster risk reduction. To date, thirty-two courses have been identified by the ISDR Secretariat for inclusion in the 2004 Programme. For further information on these courses as well on how to apply for the Fellowship Programme, please contact basabe@un.org

New CD-ROMs for disaster reduction
A CD ROM incorporating UN documents related to disaster reduction (Volume 1: 1987-1999 and Volume 2: 2000-2002) are now available from UN/ISDR.
To receive a copy, please contact isdr@un.org

The Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID) has produced 2 CD ROMs comprising information resources on early warning, as well as on water and disasters.
To receive a copy of either/both, please contact crid@crid.or.cr
To access the contents of both CD ROMs, please refer to http://www.crid.or.cr/crid/ing/index_ing.html.

ISDR Highlights is a monthly email update on current news in disaster reduction published by the Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR). Please direct all enquiries (including subscription requests) to: isdr@un.org